The Elm at the East Gate

"The Elm Trees at the East Gate"

Preface: "The Elm Trees at the East Gate" is a poem criticizing political disorder. Duke You of Chen was excessively licentious, causing social customs to deteriorate. Men and women abandoned their proper occupations, frequently gathered on the roads, and danced and sang in the marketplace.

East of the gate grow the white elms; on the high mound stand the oaks. The daughter of the Zizhong family dances lightly beneath the trees.

Choose a lucky day and go to the high ground in the south. She does not spin hemp; she dances lightly in the marketplace.

When the lucky day has passed, they go together. I look at you like a mallow flower; you give me a handful of pepper.

"The Elm Trees at the East Gate" has three stanzas, each with four lines.